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>> Tuesday, September 6, 2016

India has never been on my "travel bucket-list", but there I was, the whole of last week, in Bangalore, the IT hub of India! I've to thank my company for the numerous opportunities to work & travel, to experience the different work & lifestyle cultures around the world that opened my eyes to life out of Malaysia :)

Prior to traveling, I've received many mix feedback about traveling to India."Make sure you don't drink their tap water ya...any time, every time, just bottled water, ok??""Have you gotten your vaccination??""Try to go without any expectations ya...then you won't be disappointed..."

Hmm...is India THAT unpleasant for travels? PerutBesi's answer (just on Bangalore & not any other states in India) = Certainly no!It was a REALLY insightful & memorable experience!

The Bangalore/Bengaluru/Kempegowda International Airport still looks very new despite the fact that it's been around for more than 8 years now! The interior is well-maintained, clean & very modern, far from what people have been telling me about how run down countries like India could be. I was very impressed & somewhat shy to admit that our KLIA is not as well maintained as the Bangalore International Airport. Perhaps Bangalore is very different since it's primarily a town for the IT industry.

I was truly surprised to see many of the popular & common brands back in Malaysia are also found in Bangalore, like Subway :) The variety at such franchises are different from what we have in Malaysia although some of the items are also available in Bangalore. Yum, yum...If I'm bored with Indian food (which I may not get bored with it so quickly since I enjoy Indian food), I won't run out of options since there's the usual Subway, McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut, Domino's Pizza & more :D

The exterior of the airport is still under renovation. The surrounding land is quite 'deserted' & the airport is quite far from town, so you can imagine it's alike our KLIA back here in Malaysia.

Landscaping along the road to the airport is also particularly pretty. What you see around this area near the airport is quite a far cry from what you'll see in the city center *lol*

Their toll booths are small, old & rather manual. At certain areas where toll is collected, you can expect some massive traffic congestion as every vehicle has to queue up to pay cash at the toll booths. You'll even see ticketing officers walking out of the toll booths to collect toll charges just to speed up the process of paying the toll fees! Classic...

Honking is very common in Bangalore & India in general. I was quite intrigued to see trucks having the words "Sound horn" to remind other drivers that they should honk the trucks if they want the trucks to speed up or move over to the slow lane. People here do not use their vehicle signals nor lights like in Malaysia; all they do is to honk all the way. It's really rare to NOT hear the sound of the honk at any part of the day, wherever you are in India! After a while, I got quite irritated with the sound of honks...hahaha...and I had to endure it for a week. I can't imagine staying there for months & years, & to get immune to the sound of honks.

The ride from the airport to my hotel took approximately 1.5 hours. Oh yea, it's at the other side of the town & hey, traffic congestion is all too common! On the way, I had the opportunity to experience the different sights & sounds of rural Bangalore from my airport taxi.

Traffic Police Station & Office of the Assistant Commissioner of Police

A young girl selling bangles at a roadside stall

A whole family or more cramped into an auto

Cows, bulls, buffaloes on the road - it's a very common sight

I was very relieved upon arriving at the hotel. The hotel was really clean, comfortable, spacious & I have to commend the team of hotel staff, who were excellent with their hospitality & readiness to assist. I felt "at home" the entire week there :) I'll share more on the hotel in subsequent posts.

View from my hotel room - Marriott Hotel Whitefield

I was alone on the day of arrival, so I enjoyed exploring the hotel, its surrounding & the mall next door by myself. As I sat back to enjoy my McAloo Tikki burger from McDonald's, I couldn't help but be thankful to be at Bangalore(although I've to be away from my husband & family for 1-2 weeks each time :( ). If it wasn't for my company, I wouldn't have visited Bangalore, met so many fantastic people, experienced the many cultures in this world & enjoy the various hotel facilities during business trips :D Truly, all praise & glory to God, who made all these possible!

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comments:

Hi Ruth!Really loved your blog and this thoughtful notes on Bangalore trip.I also found Bangalore way better than people had pictured and way nicer than Delhi or Noida - the first cities I visited last year and had to stay for 2 months while working on other project.I glad to see that other people are also grateful for this amazing opportunities life gives - India was not on my Travel Bucket List either but every time come back now I found it more and more similar to Brazil especially for its foods and flavours.It was really nice meeting you...and will wait for next postings.Shukryia!

@Renata Mafra: Nice meeting u too, Renata! Seems like this trip to Bangalore has been a good one for most, if not, all of us, eh? Amidst the madness of work, it's good to check out the city during the weekends. Next post coming up soon!

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